BILLERICAY, ENGLAND--British disability groups expressed outrage
and worry this week over a mother's plan to have doctors perform a hysterectomy
on her teenage daughter, who has cerebral palsy and intellectual disabilities.

Alison Thorpe has already found a doctor to agree to perform the
sterilization surgery on 15-year-old Katie Thorpe. The doctor is now waiting
for approval from legal experts.

Ms. Thorpe told The Telegraph that she wants the elective surgery to
spare her daughter from "the mood swings, the discomfort and the indignity" of
decades of menstrual periods.

"If Katie had stomach cramps she wouldn't be able to say 'Mum I've got
really bad period pains' she would be in pain and we wouldn't know," she
explained.

If the doctor goes ahead with the procedure, it would be the first time
in the United Kingdom that a hysterectomy was performed when there was no
medical reason for the surgery.

Disability advocates have responded that forcing the procedure on Katie
Thorpe would cross a line that could lead to more young people with
disabilities being sterilized for social rather than medical reasons.

"It is really unacceptable that the for the first time in the UK that
doctors want to remove a girl's womb simply because of being disabled," said
Simone Aspis of the Disabled Peoples Council.

Andy Rickell, executive director of the charity Scope, wrote in the New
Statesman: "A key question in this complex case is who is really representing
Katie's wishes?"

"The wishes of her mother and the medical professionals consulted are
clear, but what about those of Katie herself? It is obvious to us that the
wishes of parents do not necessarily match the best interests of the child in
every situation."

Katie's situation is somewhat similar to the case of "Ashley X", which
came to light last November. In that case, the parents of the then-six-year-old
girl, who has intellectual disabilities, asked Seattle doctors to perform a set
of treatments -- including a hysterectomy, massive doses of estrogen, and
surgical removal of her breast buds -- to keep her physically small and to
avoid puberty. The parents said they chose what was later dubbed the "Ashley
Treatment" to keep their "Pillow Angel" from the discomfort of menstruation and
to make it easier for them to care for her at home.

The Washington Protection and Advocacy System, now Disability Rights
Washington, later found that the operation was illegal and violated Ashley's
rights under Washington state law.

In a related story, the Seattle Times reported Thursday that Dr. Daniel
F. Gunther, the Children's Hospital & Regional Medical Center physician who
supported Ashley's parents in their efforts, has committed suicide.

Gunther's family members and colleagues have told reporters that the
physician had experienced periods of depression in the past, and that they did
not believe the Ashley X case had anything to do with his suicide.